We will occasionally put in apps for people, it doesn't always mean that they will get in.

There seriously are some older acts that seriously do not know how to use a computer, or will not use one, so those always get entered for them. But everyone has an application.

Does this mean that someone from the band has to request this on their own, or is it more like recruiting, where the ComMitteer seeks out the band and offers to put in an app for them?

Edit: Regardless, it seems the issue is the interpretation of "apply," and you're maintaining that the importance is the end of the process which always involves committee approval instead of a "free ride" as would be suggested by "_____ didn't apply." I'm still curious about whether some bands are recruited.

We will occasionally put in apps for people, it doesn't always mean that they will get in.

There seriously are some older acts that seriously do not know how to use a computer, or will not use one, so those always get entered for them. But everyone has an application.

Does this mean that someone from the band has to request this on their own, or is it more like recruiting, where the ComMitteer seeks out the band and offers to put in an app for them?

This year, I only put in apps if I was specifically asked to by someone in the band, with the exception mentioned above. I also had to tell some folks sorry, it was just too late.

Once again, there are some acts that just wont do it themselves. A lot are live arts, or groups that have just played for so many years that they just wont do it.

Last year, I approached Tolford and asked if he would be interested in playing and said if he was I would put it in for him, because it was past the first deadline. We did get a lot more strict this year because there were 639 applications.

I would say that almost all members encourage bands to apply. I personally have quit doing that because I feel like it leads to misunderstandings that aren't worth the headache, but that being said, I did nudge Flu Faker this year.

We do applications to try to be fair even though it is flawed and can be arbitrary sometimes. Maybe we should do away with the application process?

I don't see entire threads dedicated to complaining about the bands that didn't get asked to play the CDR BBQ, Independants' Day, or the Parking Lot Blowout, so maybe we should just hand pick the bands? I dunno.

_________________"i'll show you how to make a token turn into a lifetime" dAGGER dAGGER

I don't see entire threads dedicated to complaining about the bands that didn't get asked to play the CDR BBQ, Independants' Day, or the Parking Lot Blowout, so maybe we should just hand pick the bands? I dunno.

I also don't see entire threads dedicated to a breakdancing/rapping act at Live fArts getting shut down early for

I don't see entire threads dedicated to complaining about the bands that didn't get asked to play the CDR BBQ, Independants' Day, or the Parking Lot Blowout, so maybe we should just hand pick the bands? I dunno.

i think a lot of bands think they have a better than average shot of playing comfest because:

a) the application process and subsequent scouting by the entertainment committee gives the impression that good bands who draw well will be selected,b) the community nature of the festival engenders the notion that the process is somehow fair and democratic,c) the sheer number of available slots increases the averages, even with a large number of applications.

those other festivals don't have these factors at play, so if somebody doesn't get picked to play the parking lot blowout for example, it's generally not a big deal to them because there's no mechanism to put themselves in the running. however, because of the factors above, i think a lot of bands feel like they're *entitled* to play comfest, and you know how band d00dz react when they don't get something they think they deserve.

_________________i'll never be a bowie, i'll never be an eno. i'll only ever be a gary numan.

We do applications to try to be fair even though it is flawed and can be arbitrary sometimes. Maybe we should do away with the application process?

I don't see entire threads dedicated to complaining about the bands that didn't get asked to play the CDR BBQ, Independants' Day, or the Parking Lot Blowout, so maybe we should just hand pick the bands? I dunno.

Perhaps. When I consider the other fests you mentioned, I get a very different sense of both how I'd imagine the selection process runs and how other people might perceive it. It's difficult to put into words, but where the OtherFests feel like private parties, ComFest feels like American Idol. Like a cattle call audition in which the applicants are encouraged to pour themselves into impressing a faceless panel of producers (of indeterminate qualifications), who evaluate their worthiness based upon arbitrary (and possibly capricious) standards. It's also had longer to become an institution, which necessarily makes the public feel entitled to its resources as they might a school or utility. The only things that might correct that are rebranding or a GREAT deal more transparency in the process (to the point where it would become more literally like American Idol).

Went to Gazebo to see Lydia Loveless, arrived early and got to see some girl playing acoustic guitar by herself, very rudimentary, covering MGMT's "Kids." It was so awful and so heartfelt that I was totally confused on how I should feel at the given moment. Then I realized that most evil is really heartfelt.

Still though. Watch that video. You can see the evil in her eyes......it's lurking...lurking

Having watched some of the video now, I don't think that's the same performance we saw. She was wearing a ComFest t-shirt and didn't play the intro; I think that's a different stage on a different day. Seems slower and sadder. She looks like she had a chance to read the message boards.

We do applications to try to be fair even though it is flawed and can be arbitrary sometimes. Maybe we should do away with the application process?

I don't see entire threads dedicated to complaining about the bands that didn't get asked to play the CDR BBQ, Independants' Day, or the Parking Lot Blowout, so maybe we should just hand pick the bands? I dunno.

Y'know, for many years I was involved with organizing Twangfest in St. Louis, and for many of those years we took submissions from bands. As the years passed, we realized that the best lineup came about when we just polled the committee members and came to an agreement.

Just sayin'. This submission process for Comfest has been an artifice from the very beginning (trust me, I know) and has only gotten more ludicrous over the years. Why not bag it?